New film on the life of Christina Noble

Galway Film Fleadh to screen biopic of Irish charity worker

DEIRDRE O’KANE is one of Ireland’s most popular comedians and actors, but in the new Irish film Noble she has taken on her most important role to date.

Noble, which receives its European premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh this Saturday at 8pm in the Town Hall Theatre, is based on the life of Dubliner Christina Noble who has spent the past 25 years working with disadvantaged children in Vietnam.

The film charts Christina’s arrival in Vietnam in 1989, a country “she wouldn’t be able to show you on a map”, armed with no more than a fistful of dollars. She is leaving behind a life of hardship, but she is about to change millions of lives in the process.

Deirdre O’Kane’s portrayal of Christina Noble was praised by the woman herself, who told the Irish Independent: “Deirdre did a great job playing me...So often they wait until someone is dead to make a film about them and I’m glad they didn’t do that with me.”

The film also features Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey ), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones ), Ruth Negga (Marvel’s Agent of SHIELD ), Nhu Quynh Nguyen (Indochine ) and Tony nominated Sarah Greene (The Guard ). It was written and directed by Stephen Bradley.